Can the ThermaHeat RV Holding Tank Heater Pads Drain a Trailer Battery

Question:

Just bought the pad from you guys, great service! Am almost ready to do electrical connections. Ok, is this thinking correct? if I connect this 65 watt pad to my RVs 12V battery circuit, then the draw of under 6 amps from that circuit while the heater is on would drain the battery MORE THAN the battery would be charged through the RV converters battery charging circuit when hooked to shore power. So to keep your battery properly charged through the converter when connected to shore power, is it a better idea to connect the heater to a fused DC circuit in the converter box? I have a fused 15 amp lighting circuit that uses 9 amps max if everything is on simultaneously never happens, so I could wire the heating pad into that circuit in the converter. Please discuss with your electrical experts if converter connection or battery connection with fuse is the way to go. Thanks for your answer!

asked by: Charles

Expert Reply:

Though I do not know exactly how much your converter sends to the trailer batteries while hooked up to shore power, I would be willing to bet it exceeds the 4.8 amps of the ThermaHeat RV Holding Tank Heater Pad part # 277-000164. Please keep in mind that this heater pad is controller via a thermostat and will only draw power when temperatures in the holding tank fall between 45-67 degrees fahrenheit. If you need to know how much of a charge is sent through the converter while hooked up to shore power you would need to contact the trailer manufacturer but I can't image it does not exceed that of the heater pad.

Installing the heater pad on a fused circuit is not going to reduce power draw so the best option is hook them directly to the battery.

expert reply by: Conner L